1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding roof capable of closing and opening an opening window formed in a roof body of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
A model that has a sun roof in which an opening window is formed in a roof body and the opening window is opened and closed by a sliding roof is lined up in automobiles. As shown in FIG. 4, a weather strip 5 is mounted around an entire circumference of a panel 4, and a sealing property between the opening window of the sun roof and the panel 4 is kept by the weather strip 5.
The weather strip 5 is shaped into a loop, and is fitted to embrace a frame 1 having a raised portion 2 at its peripheral edge and the panel (glass) 4 mounted and attached onto the frame 1 by an adhesion, as shown in FIG. 5.
In the weather strip 5, a tongue portion 5a projecting from the inner circumferential edge is inserted between the panel 4 and the frame 1 for preventing from being pulled apart.
In order to assemble the sliding roof having such a structure in which the tongue portion projecting from the inner circumferential edge of the weather strip is inserted between the panel and the frame, there are two methods, i. e., to mount on the frame the panel having the outer peripheral edge at which the weather strip is fitted in advance, and to mount the panel on the frame at which the weather strip is fitted in advance while winding up a lip portion 5b clamping the panel 4 in cooperation with the tongue portion 5a, for example, by utilizing a string that has been set in advance in a panel fitting portion.
The former method of these two assembling methods is superior in workability to the latter method. However, in order to enhance the reliability of the sliding roof, in view of the fact that the panel is expanded or shrunken due to a temperature difference, if a room is formed between the panel fitting portion of the frame and the edge portion of the panel, it is impossible to utilize the former method. Nevertheless, the latter method is too complicated in assembling work.
Accordingly, it is possible to take an approach to first mount the frame onto the panel and then mount the weather strip onto the frame to which the panel has been attached. In this case, it is impossible to clamp the tongue portion between the panel and the frame. Accordingly, the weather strip in which the tongue portion is dispensed with has to be used.
In this case, the weather strip is likely to be removed easily. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, a tip end portion of a raised portion 12 of a frame 11 is bent horizontally to provide a retainer portion 7 to thereby prevent a weather strip 15 from being pulled apart even if the weather strip 15 is pulled upwardly.
However, in order to bend and form the tip end portion of the raised portion horizontally, it is difficult to perform the machining work unless a width of the horizontal portion to be bent is enlarged to some extent. As a result, the width of the weather strip 15 has to be enlarged so that an area of a sliding roof 16 is unduly increased. If the sliding roof 16 has a transparent panel, an effective area for the light is reduced.
Also, if the width of the weather strip 15 is enlarged, it is difficult to bend the weather strip 15, which has been extruded, in its corner portion.